Feeding device



w. E. ZIEGNER FEEDING DEVICE Eilednlmg.l A2e 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet l F/G. I.

INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. .23, 1924.

UNlTEl) STATES I 1,520,669 PAi-ENT OFFICE.

WALTER E. ZIEGNEJL 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T0 AMERICAN MACHINERY C0., INC., OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF IJELAWARE.

FEEDING DEVICE.

To all whom t may concern:

` Be it known that I, WALTER E. ZIEGNER, a citizen -of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Feedin Devices, of which the following is a seci cation. l

e object of my invention is to provide a novel, simple and efficient screw feeding device for feedin materials of various kinds in powdere vand other form from hoppers or other containers. K

The invention is particularly adapted for use in connection with box or carton filling machines wherein the material to be introduced to the boxes or cartons is fed from a hopper through a discharge tube and permitted to drop by gravity from the tube or forced therefrom and packed into the boxes or cartons by the pressure of the feeding device; and the invention aims to provide 'a. po

device which will stop the feeding of the material immediately when the operation olf the feeding;

prevent t within the discharge end portion of the tube between box or carton filling operations.

The invention consists in the n'vel gon- 3 struction, combination and arrangement' of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying 'drawings illustrat-` inmy invention.

igure' 1 is apvertical section through a ho per'provided with a feeding device-em-F bo ying my invention, showinglmaterial in.,

the lower portion of the hopper to be fed therefrom.

Figure 2 is an enlarged' view ofthe lower portion of Fig. 1, omitting the vmaterial within the hopper; 1

Figure 3 is a section through the feedin tube, on line 3--3 of Fig. 2, toa. slightly di ferent position. p

Figure 4 is a view of the bottom of the screw shown in Fig. 3.

Fi re 5 isa view similar to Fig. 4, showing t e plate on the bottoni ofthe screw adjusted to a diife'rentposition.

i Figure 6 is a view similar to Fig. 3, showing a modification of the plate carried. by thebottom of the screw.

Figure 7 is a view of the vbottom of the screwshown-in Fig. 6. Referring to the drawings, 2 designates a device is stopped and' which will e material from falling from hopper which maybe of any suitable shape and size for its intended purpose. The bottom of the hopper 2 is provided with a tube .bottom thereof to and above the top thereof and into the hopper 2 is a screw 5 carried 70 by the lower end of a vertical shaft 6 turning in a tubular shaft 7 which is mounted to turn in a bearing 8 which extends down into the hopper 2 and is supported by a plate 9 formed thereon and secured upon a bracket 10 on the top of the hopper. The upper end rtion of the shaft 6 extends above the top of the tubular shaft 7 and has a bevel gear wheel 11 secured thereon vthrough which the shaft 6 may be driven from any suitable source of power. The hub of the ear wheel 11 carries a pinion 12 in mesh with a gear `wheel13 which turns on a shaft 14 sup orted by and extending upwardly from a glock 15 secured upon the platel9; and the hub of the gear wheel 13 carriesa pinion 16 in Vmesh with a gear wheel 17 secured to the up er end of the tubular shaft 7, whereby, w en the shaft 6 is turned to actuate the screw 5. to feed material through aiid from the tube 4, the tubular shaft 7 will be turned at a slower speed. The tubular shaft 7 carries. suitablyshaped stirring or agitating arms 18 andg 19. for stirring o r agitating the material within the hopper 2`and causing it to feed downwardly therein to the sphere of influence of the feed screw 5..

That portion of the screw 5 which extends above the top of thetube 4 and into the hopper 2 graduallyincreases in'diameter, from the top of the tube 4 to the top of the screw,

as clearly illustrated, to exert a greater feeding action upon the material 2'L in that portion of the op er 12 which is immediately above the top o the tube 4 and which is of tgrzter cross sectional area than that of the The lower end portion ofthe screw 5, for a short distance above the bottom'thereof, 1s of less pitch, than that of the remaining 110 portion of the screw which extends through the tube 4 to restrict or reduce the area of the lower end portion of the spiral-like-passage 2O formed by and between the screw 5 and tube 4, for a purpose presently eX- plained.

Fitted against the bottom ofl the feed screw 5 and extending-at right angles to the axis thereof is a horizontal plate 2l which is adjustable circularly about the axis of the screw 5 and which is held in its different positions of adjustmentby a central clamping screw 22 extending through an opening in the plate 21 and screwed into the feed screw 5, as illustrated. The plate 21 is rotatable by and with the'screw 5 within the extreme lower end 'portion of the tube.- The plate 21 shown in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, has a plurality of radial arms 23 which partially block the lower end of the spiral-like pas`l sage 20g and the plate 21, shown in Figs. 6 and 7, is shaped,-as illustrated, topartially block the passage 20.

That portion of one of the arms 23 shown in Fig. 4,` and that portion of the plate 21, shown in Fig. 7 which extends between the terminal edge 24 of the feed screw blade or thread and the edge 25 of the plate 21.. forms, in effect, a continuation of the feed screw blade or. thread, therefore it will be understood that by adjusting the plate 21 to bring the edge 25 thereof farther from or nearer to the edge 24 of the feed screw 5 the -extent of. the restriction of the lower end portion of the passage 20 may be increased o`r decreased as required to meet varying conditions or properly to feed materials of various kinds.

The arms 23 shown inA 4, not Ionly serve to. partially block the lowerl end of the passage- 20, but they also serve^ as -breakers to break up the material fed by the screw 5 Vthrough and from the tube 4 when the screw is" in operation. Y

I have discovered that by restricting and partially blocking the lower end of the passage .,20 by the plate 21 and the reduced pitch of-the lower end portion of the feed screw 5 I amenabled, bythe operation of the feed screw 5, to pack the material'in the lower or delivery end portion of the.tube 4 to aY greater extent than it is packed in the upper portion of the tube by the action of the screw, and that, las a' result thereof, the: feedin of the material-.from the bottom of the tu e 4 stops substantially immediately upon the cessation of the operation of the4 screw, and that after the feed screw has been stopped extremely little or no material will fall from the bottom of the tube. The importance of this, when the invention is usedin connection with- 'weighing or measuring machines, will readily be appreciated.

The shape of the plate 21 and the num-- ber of arms 23 vmay be changed or modified tube forming a spiral-like passage, said` screw having means at the lower end thereof to restrict the discharge end of the passage. v

2. In al feeding device, the combination of a tube, a screw mounted to turn therein to feed material therethroughand discharge it therefrom, lsaid screw and said tube forming a spiral-like passage, a plate at the discharge end of the screw restricting the discharge end of the passage, and means to secure the plate to the screw'in dierent positions of adjustment varying the extent of the restriction.

3. In a feeding device, the combination of a tube, a screw mounted to turn therein to feed material therethrough and discharge it therefrom, said screw and said tube forming a spiral-like passage, a plate set substantially at right angles to the axis of the 4screw at the discharge endthere-,

-of and being Vadjustable circularly about said axis, said plate. partially blocking the discharge end of said passage, and means to secure the plate to the screw in differing a spiral-like passage, a plate set substantially at right angles to the axis of the screw at the discharge end thereof and being adjustable circularly about said axis, said plate having a plurality of radial arms partially blocking the vdischarge end of said passage, and means to secure the plate to the screw in different positions of adjustment. v

, v5. Ina feeding device, the combination of a hopper. having-a discharging tube of less cross sectional area than that of the hopper, and a screw extending into the tube and into a 'portion 'of the hopper and v'mounted to turn therein to feed material `from the hopper into and through the tube and discharge it from the latter, that portion of the. screw' meoee mounted to turn therein to feed material from the hopper into and through the tube and discharge it from the latter, that portion of the screw extending away from the tube and into the hopper being of gruduallyincreasing diameter and being spaced from the surrounding Wall of the hopper.

e 7. In a feeding device, the combmetion of' a tube, and a screwr mounted toturn therein to feed material. therethrough end discharge it therefrom, the' pitch of the up-l per portion of the screw the pitch of the screw at the discharge end portion thereof being less than that of the said upper portion thereof Within the tube.

In testimony whereof I ax my signature hereto.

WALTER E. ZEEGNER.

being constant and. 

